July 2020 - Happy eats

18/07/2018/07/20

Savoury loaf with pistachio, pancetta and prunes

I prefer savoury foods to sweet foods. So this is my go to recipe from Rachel Khoo‘s The Little Paris Kitchen for a savoury loaf. Perfect for tea time and goes down like a treat.

It’s a really easy recipe and do follow it and don’t over mix it otherwise it won’t rise much. One of the tips I have is once you’ve prepared the filling for your loaf, mix it with the flour mix and make sure any filling that is sticky, such as the prunes, are coated with flour to prevent them clumping together within the loaf.

The loaf can last about a week in airtight container but it probably won’t last that long!

You can also use different fillings, olives and parmesan work well.

Happy eating!

09/07/2005/07/20

Larb moo – Thai spicy pork mince in lettuce leaf

A very simple and tasty dish – perfect on its own or with some rice.

This dish has a very distinctive flavour in the combination of lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar. Try it and you’ll see. It’s very moreish and you will be fighting over the last lettuce leaf to scoop up every fiery morsel.

The chilli is optional to be honest, make it as spicy or not as you like.

Have everything prepared before you start cooking the pork mince as it really doesn’t take long at all. This is definitely one of those dishes where it calls for a little fat in your pork mince if you can get it, I’m talking about choosing 10/20% fat rather than 2% fat pork mince. 500g should be comfortable for feeding two, you’ll wonder why you didn’t make more once you start…

Use the lettuce leaves as boats and spoon over that juicy pork.

See full receipe

Happy eating!!

05/07/2005/07/20

Roast lamb shoulder joint with anchovies, garlic and capers

roast lamb, roast potatoes, carrots and suede

Can’t beat a good ole’ roast lamb on a Sunday. Also can’t go wrong with pairing anchovies, garlic and capers with lamb. So this recipe is for a stuffed lamb shoulder joint with the delicious anchovies stuffing.

boneless lamb shoulder, anchovies, garlic and capers

I used a boneless lamb shoulder joint but you can also debone your own (lamb) shoulder if you want, I went for the easy route this time. Prep your shoulder joint by making small shallow cuts on the surface of the lamb where the stuffing marinade will be smeared on shortly. Prepare your trivet in your roasting tray, I usually use roughly chopped onion, carrots or celery, any vegetables that will create a layer at the bottom of your roasting tray so that your meat can sit on the vegetable bed rather than directly on the tray. It helps the juices from the meat run down during cooking which can be used for making the gravy later.

To make the stuffing, chop up some anchovies, 3-4 cloves of garlic and around 10-15 capers then place these in a pestle and mortar with some ground sea salt for the mixture to grind against. Add a glug of olive oil (or use some of the oil from the tin of anchovies) to the stuffing mix before pounding this mixture with the mortar until you get a rough paste.

Now spread roughly half to two thirds of this stuffing on one side of the lamb shoulder joint, massage it in. Roll up your shoulder joint and use some cooking string to hold the joint together. Place the joint roll on top of your trivet in the roasting tray and spread the remaining anchovie mixture on top of the joint, like a crust.

Pre-heat your oven to 200C, pour approximately 1 cup of water into the baking tray before placing a piece of foil loosely over the joint on the tray. This will create a little steam within the foil and your crust won’t be burnt to a crisp. Once the oven has been pre-heated, place the lamb in the oven and turn the temperature down to 180C to cook according to the weight of your joint. In the last 30 minutes, remove the foil for the remainder of the cooking time to allow some browning.

At the end of the cooking time, remove the meat onto a pre-heated tray and cover tightly with foil to allow to rest for 15-20 minutes whilst you prepare the gravy and everything else. Carve and serve with roast potatoes and veg of choice.

roast lamb stuffed with anchovies, garlic and capers

Happy eating!